news - Ashford Allotments

Allotment BRING AND BUY in May!

16/5/2015

Back by popular demand, this May there are 3 'bring and buy' dates at the Trading Store,
May 2nd, 16th, 30th

We have vintage tools, gardening books, and spare plants for sale to raise money for Show funds. Bring your spare plants, unwanted gardening books and any surplus tools to help swell the Show Kitty! Pick up a bargain for yourself too.

There are still some seed potatoes left (at the time of writing this) and they are now at bargain prices. If you have a bit of spare ground you've not been able to prepare to your satisfaction this spring, why not quickly pop some extra spuds in! Potatoes are very tolerant and their fine roots break up the soil while the top growth of lush foliage smothers out the weeds.

Ashford Allotment Society Pumpkin Show report

2/11/2014

The pumpkin show was a modest affair, and there are definitely allotmenteers out there who would have won bottles of wine, vouchers for seeds and other goodies if they had brought their pumpkins and squash along!

The pumpkin show was judged by Kirsty Cato with help from Vivienne Lawson as one class was very close. Tony Fagg as Show Secretary wished to compete so stood aside as judge.

Heaviest pumpkin (on the right) was brought by Brian Harvey, and weighed in at 85lb2oz. Alan Burbage came second with 61lb4oz, and Tony Fagg won 3rd place.

Alan Burbage won 'best shaped pumpkin' with this 59lb beauty, which would have won 3rd in the 'heaviest pumpkin' class.

Michael Hoban won best carved pumpkin (top right), Anna Rooker won 2nd (bottom), and Fiona Holman won third.

Gilda Puckett won 'two squash' with this matched pair of 'Crown Prince', a nip and tuck decision against Tony Fagg's entry

Gilda also won '3 different squash, one of each' (yes, that's me, it was embarassing) and donated her prize of £10 worth of Thompson and Morgan vouchers to Tony for the sake of fairness.

There were no entries in the classes 'Heaviest Marrow' or 'Ugliest Squash', so you all missed out there, folks - the prizes were there for the taking if you had come along.

Prizes included bottles of wine and vouchers for Thompson and Morgan Seeds, vouchers for Tuckers Seeds, and bulbs and garlic kindly donated by friendly local nursery Harringe Plants on the A20 at Sellinge.

Giant Pot Leek Show at well-known seaside resort

15/9/2014

That is a ten pence piece next to that leek, folks. So, as you can see, this wasn't a giant show, it was a show of giant leeks! The black mark is magic marker, denoting the height above the roots where the girth of this monster was to be measured.

Pot leeks are grown for girth, not length, and some exhibits were disqualified because the distance between roots and the 'button' - the point where the leaves divide - was too long.

Where was this stunning variation on the village flower show? At Seahouses on the Northumbrian coast, a lovely little fishing port amongst stunning beaches just a few miles from Bamburgh Castle. The show was in a marquee in the garden of the Old Ship Inn, overlooking the harbour, as you can see from the photos on the left. Too far to pop up for the day, sadly - though a lovely spot for a holiday.

Produce show at SeahousesPicture

Seahouses harbour from the Old Ship InnPicture

It was a real thrill to stumble upon this show - literally we just saw a blackboard with the worlds 'Leek Show Marquee' chalked on them and an arrow pointing past the pub. For two keen allotmenteers it was the icing on the cake. So read on to see more of the Giant Leeks, not to mention onions the size of cabbages and Chrysanthemums as big as your head.

show crysanths at seahousesPicture

Show chrysanths at seahousesure

Here we have the biggest Chrysanths you've ever seen. And, on the right, the same in pink, just in case you couldn't believe your eyes. Both by the same grower, who also won the prize for the leeks - and several of the other classes. We didn't ask the secret of his success as we thought it highly unlikely he'd tell us! But, believe me, we were awe-struck. But more about those leeks . . . here is a selection of photos to give you a faint idea of their stunning hugeness.

Picture A Warnaby's giant leeks

The leek nearest the camera is the same one as in the first photo, with the 10p coin next to it. Scary!

And if you want something other than leeks, here are a few other scary vegetables . . .

I admit it, there are few leeks there too. But spot below the 'Disaster Class' Perhaps we should have this for our summer show next year? What do you think?

Picture R Nelson Jnr forked carrot

Mr R Nelson Jnr was very keen to claim proud ownership of this spectacularly unsuccessful carrot. One wonders if he inherited his specialist skills at carrot-nobbling from R Nelson Snr? An example to all of us and proof that there is hope of prize success for everyone. I should say thaT Mr Nelson's other entries were superb, by the way! We've got to run a 'Disaster Class' next year, surely!

For the show report in the Northumberland Gazette click here.

Produce Stall at the Summer Show

20/8/2014

Don't forget we are having a produce stall at the Summer Show, so whether you're coming in the morning to take part, or in the afternoon to admire, do bring your surplus produce to help us raise a few quid towards costs.

As you'll have seen earlier this month, the produce stall at the Pilgrim's Hospice raised a good amount. We don't expect quite so many people at the Summer Show (we haven't got a minibus laid on or anything like that) but all money raised will be very useful, so please do take a few minutes to walk over your plot and scoop up your surplus of whatever you have a lot of. All contributions incredibly welcome!

Results of the 'Best Plot' competition, plus all the photos we could get, are now there for you to see. Certificates will be awarded, plus the vintage silver cup for Best Plot, at the Summer Show on Saturday.

Nearly-new, old, secondhand and vintage gardening books wanted for the 23rd August

2/8/2014

At this year's summer show on 23rd August, there will be a secondhand gardening book stall to raise money. So we urgently want your unwanted garden and gardening books! they do not need to be specifically fruit and veg - all gardening books are welcome, also books on related subjects such as country crafts, cooking with vegetables, jams and preserves and so on. We are advertising it as vintage, secondhand and antiquarian, so do not worry if your books are past the first flush of youth or are even older than you are!

Books can be brought to the Trading Store on the 9th of August, or can be brought along to the show on the day. If you have books and can't deliver them on either of those two dates, get in touch and we'll arrange something.

Appledore Village Flower show

24/7/2014

Super displays of fruit and vegetables at Appledore Village Flower Show, including this spectacular collection of vegetables from Graham Selmes (right). The black cloths do set them off so well. A beautifully-put-on show and one that really sets a standard for us.

A date for your diary!

23/7/2014

Aldington & Bonnington Gardening Society
Autumn Show

We're told this is one of the best shows around and well worth the effort of a short drive or bus ride to Aldington!

Aldington Village Hall
Saturday 6th September
Doors open at 1.00pm with prize giving at 3.30pm. There are no open classes but visitors are very welcome. No entry charge. Raffle and light refreshments. Sales table with surplus produce - vegetables, fruit, flowers and plants.

Ashford Beekeepers Association hold their annual Honey Show in the adjacent hall, so altogether an interesting afternoon.

Don't miss Stone Fete!

30/6/2014

Stone-cum-Ebony Flower Show and Fete is one of the highlights of the country year, and a fine, traditional village flower show. For an charming afternoon of old-style jollity, mark Saturday 19th July 2014 at 1.30pm on your calendar!

Now, the flower show has an 'Open' class - in other words, anyone can enter. It doesn't matter that you live in Ashford, your exhibits will be welcome. Several of the Ashford Allotmenteers have entered over the years, winning coveted rosettes, as well as cups and shields.

The show schedule is uploaded below for you to see. If you would like a copy emailed to you, just drop us a line at [email protected] and we'll send it.

If you don't fancy competing, just load up the family and come along for a super old-fashioned afternoon out. As well as the flower show, there are (I quote from the poster) a Fun Dog Show, Garden Railway Exhibit, Ark Animal Encounters, Coconut Shy - BBQ - Tombola -: Games - Tea Tent - Plants; Family Races - Produce Marquee; Beer Tent - History Display Plus lots more. Entry by programme 50p

Plots numbers appearing now

27/6/2014

Well, here is a very imaginative plot number sent in by Debbie - the number 31 is on both the CD earrings and the clogs.

Send us a photo of your own plot number or of one you think is particularly good, to
[email protected]

Lots of allotmenteers have responded to the call to number their plots, with imaginations running riot and plots now much easier to locate. Below are just a few to amuse and inspire you. If you haven't already numbered your plot, don't be shy - sort a little something out, even if it's just a number scrawled on your shed!

Don't forget, there's a prize to be won
for the 'most creative'
to be awarded at the Summer Show

The wacky . . .

The just plain potty . . .

The very polite . . .

The cheeky . . .

The no-nonsense . . .

The artistic . . .

The wilfully obscure . . .

The utterly charming . . .

. . and the 'Can't miss it'!

Send in a photo of your plot number, or one you've seen and particularly like, to [email protected]

Bring and buy day a success

21/6/2014

Today's 'Grand Allotment Bring and Buy' (that "Grand" was meant to be ironic, by the way) has been judged a success, with lots of tools and kit - both vintage and new - finding new homes where it was needed. Plants of tomatoes, kohl rabi, celeriac, cayenne pepper, kale, courgettes, summer and butternut squash and four huge, beautiful 'Marketmore' cucumbers were brought in and have now found good homes.

Donations of gardening books were outstanding, with some really super brand new books alongside more vintage titles. While a lot have sold, there is still a wide choice of titles which will be available the next time the Trading Store is open.

There will also be a book stall at the Summer Show, so please turn out all your surplus gardening books and bring them to the Trading Store so we can keep the ball rolling.

The money raised will go towards show expenses - it will be very good to start organising the Show with a petty cash kitty to call on, rather than asking individual helpers to lend the Society money!

A big thank you to all those who donated stuff, all those who turned up and bought, and the volunteers who helped keep everything running smoothly when we were so busy!